Wednesday, December 19, 2012

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Director: Peter Jackson. Cast: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm, Elijah Wood. 169 min. Rated PG-13. USA/New Zealand. Adventure/Fantasy.

Okay - Peter Jackson is one of the best directors ever, his panoramas are some of the most magical in movie history, and his action sequences are difficult to surpass. But honestly, haven't we already been here before, in LOTR, or even King Kong? Do we really need another trilogy offering the same bone-rattling thrills, the same ghoulish characters (and Gollum), the same perilous journey of heroes trying to get somewhere? I had a feeling there were subplots just to jack the duration up to 3 hours. With all its enchanting beauty and entertainment, a Mojo would be a disservice.

Mo says:

9 comments:

  1. I am still looking forward to seeing it.

    I always preferred The Hobbit to Lord of the Rings anyway but I doubt the need for 3 3 hour movies to do the book justice. This feels like movie company profits above art. I'm not surprised of course.

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  2. There's no question that I recommend people to see it. Just that when I was leaving the theater, I didn't feel any of the emotional impact the "LOTR" movies had on me, and I blame that on repetition. There are some incredible sequences in there (a rock giant battle, an escape from an underground Ork city) that should definitely be seen. I'm just wondering how much an artist as good as Jackson owes his loyal fan base to offer them something newer (conceptually or visually) than he already provided them before.

    Maybe he should have made "The Hobbit" before "LOTR".

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  3. He definitely should have made the Hobbit first. I'd like to see it in the cinema but the thought of kids chatting all the way through it puts me off. They ruined LOTR for me, it wasn't really a kids film and some idiots took small children to see it and they howled all the way through. I expect the same would happen at The Hobbit but more so as it is seen as a more kid friendly tale.

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  4. Try an early screening time, with hopes of having a minimally populated theater composed of adults.

    ;-)

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  5. Overall, I liked the movie. But early on, I felt like I was watching the LOTR equivalent of "The Star Wars Holiday Special".

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  6. Funny! I'm sure you've seen this hilarious SNL parody. It's right on target:

    http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/20/snl-parody-what-if-peter-jackson-split-the-hobbit-into-19-movies?abthid=50fc105f66f0c1be2f000035

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  7. I finally managed to see The Hobbit and loved it. I had to buy the DVD of course as it has long since left the cinemas.

    There was a lot of additional sub-plots that were never in the original novel. There is no mention of orks in the novel, instead Tolkien used goblins, to great effect. They looked fantastic in the movie, as did a younger Golum.

    My only real problem with the movie was the accents of the Dwarves, they were all supposed to be from the same area and yet we were subjected to Scottish, English and Irish accents? There are enough fine actors from all the countries, Jackson should have picked one and stuck to it.

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  8. That's too technical for me - I have a hard time differentiating the Scottish, English, Irish accents ... from the Australian and South African accents!!

    I guess they make these movies for the ignorant American audience.

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  9. Although Peter Jackson is a New Zealander and they HATE being mixed up with Australians. It's the same for me with North American/Canadian accents!

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